Helter Skelter
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Apr 01, 2008 4:50pmThe latest video from Mike Gravel:
In the age of Halliburton and Blackwater, you gotta love the only candidate willing to say the phrase "military-industrial complex." Given who is left in the race, is it any surprise that Eisenhower originally wanted to warn against the military-industrial-congressional complex?
You can show Gravel some love here.
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You should probably file that under "Libertarian Party" since that's the nomination he's running for now.
Gravel's kind of a weirdo.
Well, it beats the one where he threw the rock in the lake.
thehim is right about his party now.
To be honest, I had to turn it off about half way because it was too, too, too, too much of his voice.
re: thehim, just what I was going to say.
Should we also show Ron Paul some love if he gets back into the race?
Well, he sings better than William Shatner. But he's still a nut. And if any real candidate had made use of the Twin Towers footage like that, the press and the blogs would be all over him or her.
Well, he sings better than William Shatner. But he's still a nut. And if any real candidate had made use of the Twin Towers footage like that, the press and the blogs would be all over him or her.
wow!
Looks like he's having fun tweaking that MIC. The method kind of disqualifies him as a serious Presidential candidate, but I confess, I liked it. And I am grateful to have someone in public life willing to speak truth to power like that.
give me some of what Gravel is smoking!
don't bogart that, budda!
I almost thought I was gonna get Rickroll'd.
I was really started worrying about Gravel when I saw him kissing up to Paul voters at a Paul rally (video on youtube). He was going on and on about how much he had in common with Paul. Fast forward a few months and switches parties.
I'm sorry, libertarianism is an ideological crutch that leads to hypocritical, intellectually immature stands on issues (when we compare issues such as guns, poverty, corporate welfare, trade, death penalty, drugs--or whenever they are forced to pick on entities' liberty over another's). Why anyone would sellout or perhaps seriously make the choice to become one is beyond me.
Power to the people, give the elite a chance!
Gravel is a bona fide liberal without the "libertarian" nuttiness of Ron Paul. He'd make a great pres. Can't you see him talking to the generals? I'd vote for him any day. Yay Gravel!
No matter the message, there is something to be said for delivery. His delivery has a strange frightening effect.
....that said, the video is great! Gravel, probably to save money, gave his PR campaign over to video artists and avant-garde directors, and that redeems him to some extent. It's fun to think of his run as an experiment in performance art, in which case, he really should have his own party. ;-)
Ever get the feeling we as a society are a vast insane asylum, as in “doing the same (dysfunctional) thing over and over and expecting different results”?
The only candidate to mention the MIT ? .... cough
pissed off patricia @ 15:
And that is what makes it. It ain't no love song.
Good on you Mike.
And as for this kind of stuff keeping one from being Presidential material, then perhaps if he had performed with a chimp, or took one for the Gipper or pitched 20 Muleteem Borax, or whatever, than that would qualify him, right?
Give 'em hell, Gravel!
That's a finger stuck directly in the eye of David Rockefeller and the CFR. For those of you who don't understand the relevance of that statement, do some more home work and stop complaining about his style. What are YOU doing to expose the truth?
http://plungerspeaks.blogspot.com
READ IT.
Not quite Bill Shatner...
but still Rockin!...
Yup, Kucinich, Gravel, Paul...are the only ones speaking truth to power .
Gotta love Gravel's crazyness though...
He's a bit out there, but I'm still glad I voted for him in my caucus!
Ron Paul mentions the M.I.C. all the time. So clearly Gravel isn't the only candidate who mentions the entity. Also, didn't Gravel leave the democratic party?
My only question is "Why skip the 1990's and the Clinton penchant for war?" Serbia, a nation that did not attack the United States, nor posed a threat to the United States, was subjected to 30+ of aerial bombardment of its entire civilian infrastructure...every bridge, every utility plant, every major factory, and even a TV station on the side. The fact that the mugs Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Mad. Albright, Wesley Clark, Joe Biden, and Joe Lieberman are missing from this video makes me think the video needs to be dismissed in its entirety.
CFR = MIC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qy97pFDLig
Look, I really think Gravel's a good guy, BUT...
Part of my brain thinks he got in the race only to shine some light on a few pet issues for as long as possible, while another part of the brain tells me he got into the race only to fulfill a promise to his grandmother that he made to her on her deathbed.
Much of what Gravel says could have been said in '76, or '80, or '84, or...why remain as far off the radar as he has in the years since he left the Senate to run now?
Military Industrial complex...
Medical Industrial complex...
Energy Industrial complex...
All of them backed by a giant Banking Industrial Complex...
we are up against alotta shit...
Fantastic!
Great video do some more like that, Mike, by the way where's the followup on Kennedy's asssassination , Bobby's that is, we heard there was new evidence he was shot in the back by a second shooter....helter skelter
You might say the White male Military Industrial Complex..
Why is it that the candidates with the best ideas are nuts?
My friend saw a doctor who had M.D., M.B.A behind his name on the door.Now that`s an honest broker.
Isn`t the Fed a kind of Industrial Complex?How refreshing that we`re finding out that freedom ain`t shit.
milquetoast @ 27:
So far the only one that seems to get it^
Now if there ever was a campaign video to 'rock' the vote that was it. Maybe I will vote after all...I'll write gravel in. THAT was awesome.
Shouldn't it be the vast media-military-industrial-congressional complex?
Leslie @ 32,
Yes Leslie,
The military, pharmaceutical, energy and banking industrial complexeseses
all advertise to us (on a daily basis) through the "media/entertainment Industrial complex"
and they have thoroughly infiltrated our "government industrial complex...
Kinda reminds me of William S. Burroughs.
Rico @ 24:
I have sympathy for your position, but I disagree. Clinton used the military to support international institutions like the UN, NATO, and the ICC. I think there is a role for the US in this capacity.
I don't like anyone using the images of the attacks of September 11, 2001, in a video to make a political point.
Other than that, I liked it. Helter Skelter is an awesome song. Did Shattner cover that? For some reason Gravel reminded me of him.
Rico @ 24:
Oh, yes... now Serbia is the victims.
Whatever...
PS. I was deployed in Mostar. So if anything the bombings were too little too late...
Is Gravel a little nuts? Sure. But he is the most sane of the bunch. So I guess that means everybody else is batshit crazy to not say how urgent it is to end this war and insure every american.
Wow.. that was cool.
#35 Old Billy said: "I have sympathy for your position, but I disagree. Clinton used the military to support international institutions like the UN, NATO, and the ICC."
Looks good in lights but a study of the facts reveals that a majority of U.S. (i.e. Clinton) actions in the 90's in the Balkans violated the UN charter, the NATO charter, and the Geneva Conventions.
#36 Tyler Durden said: "Oh, yes… now Serbia is the victims. Whatever…
PS. I was deployed in Mostar. So if anything the bombings were too little too late…"
No, not Serbia, but the Serbian people. Let me quote from the chief cheerleader for the Clintons at the time, Joe Lieberman.
When questioned by Patrick Buchanan about the morality of bombing civilian targets in Serbia, Lieberman said: "I hope the air campaign, even if it does not convince Milosevic to order his troops out of Kosovo, will so devastate his economy, which it's doing now, so ruin the lives of his people, that they will rise up and throw him out.” NBC's Meet the Press on April 25, 1999.
One doesn’t need to be an expert in international law or the Geneva Conventions to know that terrorizing civilians, destroying their economy, ruining their lives so as to get them to change their government is a war crime.
That was the Clinton foreign policy.
the clinton fanboys (and girls) hate gravel because he is real where hillary is not. they like cheese product not vermont cheddar. i dont care if he cant win. if hillary gets the nomination i sure as hell wont vote for HER.
Rico @ 40:
right, so you're giving Milosevic a pass ......right ,I gotcha. understood.
#42 Mudshark says: 'right, so you’re giving Milosevic a pass ……right ,I gotcha. understood."
Not a bit. Go back and read the post. My point is simple: a national policy of bombing the entire civilian infrastructure of a sovereign nation simply because you don't like the guy in charge is immoral. In fact, it's a war crime. Look it up.
Rico @ 43:
No, you provide me with a link proving the US bombed the ENTIRE civilian infrastructure.(which I know is absurd)
I suppose you've forgotten about the snipers killing innocent Bosnian and Croat's in Sarejevo (my spellings bad tonight,please forgive.)
mudshark @ 45:
that's right, you remember. When we saw on TV women and Children getting gunned down. I Think BC did the right thing there.Of course we could have said...............................not my problem.
#44: "No, you provide me with a link proving the US bombed the ENTIRE civilian infrastructure.(which I know is absurd)"
For hyperbole, yes, I apologize. Absurd, no. Somebody once said about the Balkans is that there too much history there. Let's leave it at that. It's too far off topic.
Maybe try the link below as a start. Provides a good juxtoposition of New York September 11, 2001 and Belgrade 1999.
http://emperors-clothes.com/images/rem.htm
Rico @ 47:
I haven't read your link yet, but I will. I for one got very upset at the site of women and children getting gunned down in the street............. And I watched this info for months and months before we did anything about it. THAT was a disgrace,waiting so long.
In case you don't look at the link, Clinton's General Michael Short on targeting of civilian infrastructure:
"'I think no power to your refrigerator, no gas to your stove, you can't get to work because the bridge is down -- the bridge on which you held your rock concerts -- and you all stood with targets on your heads. That needs to disappear at 3 o'clock in the morning.'"
-- The New York Times, 13 May 1999. Gen. Short was not just talking. NATO intentionally attacked civilian facilities including consumer-goods factories, hospitals and homes, killing thousands. The Times headlined this article, "Crisis in the Balkans: The Overview; Allied Air Chief Stresses Hitting Belgrade Sites," thus using the harmless-sounding phrase, "hitting Belgrade sites," to whitewash Short's stated strategy of targeting civilians to intimidate or coerce the Yugoslav population into demanding surrender.
you're right.
we should have done nothing.
We should have let Milosevic go on with his ethnic cleansing.
We should have just said..............not my problem.
He's nuts...but, I kind of like it.
he may be a lover but he ain't no dancer.
A fitting use of Hillary's canned laughter (her "response" to Mike at the debate where he pointed out that she voted for the IRAN war resolution): it is part of the soundscape through the entire piece.
The Libertarians and I diverge greatly, but I'll vote for Mike no matter what party he's with.
We call it the war profiteering industry now, which includes both the military and security industrial complexes.
That was funny, sad, good and terrible all at the same time. If you can manage to get through the first 3:42 you finally get the real message from Ike. And that, my friends, is what it is all about. Those words from Ike should have been taught in every school in the land. Then maybe we, as a people, wouldn't have been so easily fooled into this mess.
5 minute speech from presidential candidate Mike Gravel: "Eisenhower's Warning"
"we should be guided by Eisenhower's warning that an inordinate emphasis on military power breeds a culture of militarism that threatens other vital areas of our society."
This is like a presidential campaign run by someone out of a Vonnegut novel, Slapstick to be specific. So, although I won't be voting for you, God Bless you, Mr. Gravel.
Weird
Gravel was my man at the beginning but he was so far off the Radar. Nebraska didn't even have a way to Caucus for him
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Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties
as confirmed by U.S. Central Command: 4480
GLA is a moron. Shall we count the ways?
(guns, poverty, corporate welfare, trade, death penalty, drugs–or whenever they are forced to pick on entities’ liberty over another’s)
by allowing people to protect themselves, you are protecting everyone's liberty. it's really the most fundamental liberty there is. but you immature liberals forget that government power can be misused, and there ain't much one can do to protect themselves from an overreaching government, especially when you have no weapons.
as far as I know, Ron Paul is firmly against corporate welfare, so maybe you're just a fucking moron.
trade? you're against trade, ya fucking dope?
death penalty? Ron Paul is against the federal death penalty. Perhaps you're a fucking moron?
drugs? perhaps you think the "war on drugs" has been a success? perhaps you think it promotes liberty to prevent a doctor from prescribing marijuana to a dying patient to ease their pain? or perhaps you're REALLY a fucking moron.
Jesus H. Christ, GLA, you are one of the dumbest posters I've ever seen, and that is saying A LOT! So congratulations for setting yourself apart. BTW, give me all of your guns, knives and all sharp objects in your home. When your home is broken into and your family killed because you have no means of defending yourself, perhaps you'll finally see how fucking stupid you really are.
One of my faves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szPQCvJ8MPg
The industrial band Ministry has a song that has a very similar message to this one, called "End of Days (pt 2)". About half the song is dubbed in with Eisenhower's final speech, and it's very powerful. More people need to hear his message, especially in today's context.
Ike must be rolling in his grave.
That's just crazy enought to work!
(Or not.)
Jesus Christ, this guy is crazy!
I understand this for its comedic value, but can you believe we allowed this guy into any of the debates?????
God lord. What a waste of time.
Go, Mike!
He's just trying to show people what is being done in their name. It's meant to be scary.
The One @ 37:
This is what I feel as well, really.
Sure, Gravel is a little kooky; he's like the nation's outspoken grandpa. And sometimes, especially during videos like this, I feel embarassed for him. If I were editing this video, I wouldn't have shown Gravel at all (perhaps at the end I would, after the music stopped, and have him turn off the television via remote and walk away - that sort of thing), and had his 'lyrics' much more quiet so that they were just audible and that the viewer was just able to make them out, highlighting to what degree those that ask tough questions are drowned out by the rock-and-roll news shows from which we learn nothing.
But for the moments wherein it is obvious that he's very eccentric, we still have a man who speaks the truth in a very candid fashion. I like Barack Obama and I like Hillary Clinton, but both of them, like all politicians, spoonfeed us pablum. And we ask for them to! We expect it of them to reassure us with catchphrases and generalizations. It's white noise, you know?
Anyhow, I respect Mike Gravel because I absolutely believe that he's speaking from the heart. Individuals, like the fellow who posted comment #65, seem to take for granted that we mostly see him as 'crazy' not for his true eccentricities but because he doesn't conform to the standard swagger and talk of the politician. He doesn't sound like a newscaster. And that is an arbitrarily-created standard; our current speakers imitate the mannerisms of those who came before. It's a rehearsed sort of public speaking. It's akin to saying that someone from a low-income family who doesn't care which fork he uses to eat his damn salad is a Neanderthal because he doesn't have the social grace of upper-class snobs who need their Victorian-inspired manners to be just right. Mike Gravel communicates his ideas competently, intelligently, and with an intensity and urgency I don't think can be matched. Every single time Obama slips up and utters a truth he believes in instead of the rehearsed, 'safe' dialogue, the media hounds him for it. Mike Gravel is doing this all of the damn time.
I don't know whether or not Mike Gravel would have been a good President, but he represents so much more than what our current crop of contenders stand for.
I think you mean the banking-media-agricultural-energy-medical-industrial-congressional-complex.
www.gravel2008.us - Mike's website
www.ni4d.us - Mike's National Initiative for Democracy (like state ballot initiatives, but we want it on a national level)
www.vote.org - another website for the NI4D
www.citizen-power.us - Mike's book, Citizen Power: A Mandate For Change, mostly about the National Initiative
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